Privilege as a Moving Target

Linked to people’s social identities, privilege is largely understood as an unearned asset, which translates to advantages for those to whom it is ascribed. Drawing on a phenomenological research conducted with 20 direct practice social workers in Southwestern Ontario, Canada, this paper suggests an alternative theoretical framework of social constructionism for considering the evolving and shifting dimensions of privilege and its implication for social work practice. By proposing privilege as a moving target, study participants acknowledged the different but fluid categories of social identities and the different contexts of individuals in society. Participants also recognized the advantages that are earned by personal and professional characteristics, which can be experienced or deployed in multiple ways. They also identified internal characteristics such as a sense of agency or autonomy, which is the recognition of the individual as a self-propelling agent with choices even amidst adverse situations. Privilege as a moving target accepts the dynamic physical, ecological, political and sociocultural environments under which social workers operate. Understanding that privilege is a moving target is relevant to professional social work practice because privilege goes to the core of personal and professional identities of social workers as they interact with clients and in society.